Cutting taper on tablesaw

[Doug Fennell]

I have a "Howto" question about cutting a taper on a tablesaw, & I need to accurately reproduce this part.

The challenge is cutting the identical taper on both sides of a board. For example, take a square board and label Right side West, Left side East, top side North, Bottom side South. Keeping the south side down, I need to cut the identical taper on the West and East sides of the board.
Like this -

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The tough part is that if you use a traditional taper jig sled, this is not really possible. Even reinserting the the scrap piece on one side, flipping and recutting won't work because of the saw kerf - you'll just cut a trapezoidal shape.

For a real world example, the final shape will be roughly 1.5" on the leading edge, 3" on the trailing edge and the board will be 2" thick and 28" long.


The best work around I've come up with is to cut 2 boards with the same taper using a sled type taper jig and glue them down the center.


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[Cliff Polubinsky]

Doug,

What about making a jig that doesn't use the fence but rides in the miter slot and references the centers of the board. Kind of like a lathe tailstock does. If you wanted to make it for more than one use you could make the tailstocks adjustable so you can make different tapers.

Cliff

[Doug Fennell]

Cliff, that's an extremely interesting idea. Dowels for location on the jig and drill dowel holes on the centerline of the board. Rip, flip, repeat. That very well might work.

[Jacques Gagnon]

Doug,

Maybe something along the lines of this?

Regards,

J.

[Tom M King]

Since you are only needing two different setups, I'd just cobble together two different sleds. I have done a number of them for making long wedges, using the miter slot.

[John TenEyck]

Another option is to make a sled with the taper you need on both sides. Here's one for cutting tapered porch columns that tapers from 14" to 12", so 1" on each side.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLWwqxLV7NWG-ExrAhh5HINCRr-7lXRaU8R3ncF3D4KSae01SjiVJWFlPdCHbWOtZc14zHT-FXB-oPq_4hmDv0bNdcq5xHguwZlvQjnva4_CjVsJNwArJ07NV6-S0QIFC0tBQKTm8ufHcPCdKfO1aGVL_w=w820-h615-no?authuser=0

The workpiece is 2" wider than the final part but less would be OK. In any case, you mount the workpiece in the sled with a screw through the fence at each end to secure it.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLUL1Xvt0MXNsEFGXjc8futKq8I3sAR2R_t2LuHnSSjnZOk3x-Z16t--g4acCSRZLEOAZ4E-gl-EJRKuuBx1eebbkySFqYG_oDGa0XZvNUg5f3IX5SOU1VXP_XwZI zLudng_80K8KCfdEauqFMm3xhFaaA=w462-h615-no?authuser=0

The rip fence is set to give you the correct amount of cutoff. I'm make beveled cuts but it doesn't matter, it works at any angle including 90 deg. The key is that the jig is wide enough that the offcut has room to fall harmlessly between the blade and rip fence.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLVBINldh2I1lEKalhTdeBYoeEap9eE5_AueJbpWU3_PhOtRY u4ScHXHMoWiroilbNVpnEyggcMGd-zwrRy6ZmisGk47ajZYixE9X3qyr1oCwZLdj3QwzA3ThGgH9YQM CQMBlvLYUHZ7BF2-I2hjtBA1yw=w820-h615-no?authuser=0

And here's the finished part:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLXMkK12ySHW4F5Yy5LlpU0opea_TGmu-zMTKFMC_wdo0AGR2N-c6EBZWr2e72YgIeTGhVXKjvLN5b_vGKvE9yA-b4SOcaN4gfySGc_d4a7vPEsOA6hqnlK5QC7WSGzDsT0OPXRXr5 Gd5NSdT0MBlCUWnA=w820-h615-no?authuser=0

And the column:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AM-JKLXUAp6Zg8nAtRYwInB_VSaqnw9jCWzQOqcGzWhrYeHXYb_ws r6T82XqF83IKzPzUSp2CHb2w64S-5fhi0D9ATDq4tqQkj9ImXRI7iIPOGwA3vh2cSj9AKOwHC8pulL ExrmjhL2qtN4BNpbtcpM2gM4jzA=w462-h615-no?authuser=0

When I have to make a lot of identical parts this is how I do it. Tapers, hexagons, it doesn't matter, you can make any shape that has straight cuts, and it works equally well on the bandsaw.

John

[Rick Potter]

I would suggest using a simple 'L' fence. Nothing fancy, but it should do what you want.

Google.... 'L' fence video.

[John C Bush]

I made coopered bucket kits for a kids project--70+ kits & lots of happy kids--. The staves were tapered just like you are wanting, and beveled as well. I made two jigs using my inca miter sled to get the angles just right then used the jigs against the fence to make the cuts. I saved the jigs and can send pics if you wish. Not difficult once set up. The buckets had 12 staves so 24 cuts X 70 kits---I got pretty good at it after the first 500!!

[Don Coffman]

I'd second the "L" fence. Built one and used nothing else for tapers since.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Track saws thrive on stuff like this.

I know how I'd do it - but - I can't even begin to explain it.

Maybe this video will help.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=busKR0Y9fbs

[glenn bradley]

What about making a jig that doesn't use the fence but rides in the miter slot

Another example of that idea.

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The blank can be referenced on a pin if desired.

[Curt Harms]

Doug,

Maybe something along the lines of this?

Regards,

J.

That was my thought. A jig like that can be useful for a number of tasks. The limitation is width of work piece. The work piece needs to be wide enough for the clamps.

[Jim Dwight]

The jig that Glenn and I think one other person recommended can also be guided by the rip fence but a bar in the miter slot would keep you from wandering away from the fence.

[Tom Bender]

For shorter stock I do this

466294

Sometimes just measure and mark on the ends, sometimes clamp something behind the corner for quicker repeatability.

[Kevin Jenness]

The tough part is that if you use a traditional taper jig sled, this is not really possible. Even reinserting the the scrap piece on one side, flipping and recutting won't work because of the saw kerf - you'll just cut a trapezoidal shape.


Well, if you add a 1/8" shim, or whatever the kerf width is, that should work. Or you could rough out the copies and use a flush trim bit with the original as a pattern.

[Jim Becker]

For shorter stock I do this

466294

Sometimes just measure and mark on the ends, sometimes clamp something behind the corner for quicker repeatability.

You can also tack a thin piece of scrap "on the line" to help support that workpiece using a fixture like that. I use a 23 gage pinner and scrap .25" material for that.

[johnny means]

Well, if you add a 1/8" shim, or whatever the kerf width is, that should work. Or you could rough out the copies and use a flush trim bit with the original as a pattern.

No need for a shim. All you need to do is slide the off-cut down until the faces meet and you get the proper angle.